Nearhood, John William
Army Corporal

John William Nearhood, age 18, from Cook County Chicago, Illinois .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, August 8, 1950
Death details: In early August 1950, members of the U.S. Army’s 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were defending a bulge in the Naktong River in South Korea as part of a defensive formation known as the Pusan Perimeter. The U.S., United Nations, and South Korean forces were attempting to protect the critical Pusan Harbor from the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) while waiting for U.S. reinforcements to arrive. On August 6, the NKPA initiated a large-scale attack on the perimeter with intentions of capturing capture the town of Taegu, located around the center of the Allied lines. The bulge in the Naktong where the 34th Infantry was positioned was notoriously difficult to defend, and that night, an NKPA battalion slipped through a gap in the perimeter and took positions behind the regiment’s front. The regiment sent its 1st Battalion to repel the NKPA infiltrators, which it did, despite encountering stiff resistance and suffering numerous casualties. Sergeant John William Nearhood, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing during this action on August 8 near the Naktong River. He was not seen to fall in battle, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war (POW). After the area of his loss returned to the control of U.S. and South Korean forces, extensive searches were conducted for his remains but all were unsuccessful. Today, Sergeant Nearhood is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Times (1950)